An Ardoyne man has been freed by Belfast Crown Court after being cleared by a judge of the murder by the INLA of a sports shop owner, Mr Gerald Evans, in April 1994. Relatives of Mr Edward Campbell (23), from Cranbrook Court, clapped, when the judge, Mr Justice Girvan, dismissed the case against him.
The judge said identification evidence from two witnesses, including Mr Evans's son in law - who was also injured in the shooting - was unsafe to act upon.
Mr Evans (43), a Protestant father of five, was shot along with his son in law on April 25th, 1994, at the North Cott Centre in Glengormley, Co Antrim, in his fishing tackle shop which he had opened only a week earlier.
His murder was later claimed by the INLA. The 9 m.m. pistol used to shoot him twice was subsequently used in three other murders, including that of UVF men Colin Craig and David Hamilton in June 1994.
Mr Campbell was picked out of a police line up a month after Mr Evans's murder by his son in law and by a security guard at York Gate shopping centre where the gunmen and driver abandoned their hijacked taxi after the shooting.
Mr Campbell, who pleaded not guilty to the murder, always claimed police had set him up and that he was not involved in terrorism or the shooting.